Turkey Shot Down a Russian Jet Near the Syrian Border

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has defended Turkey's shooting down of a Russian fighter jet at the border with Syria, saying Turkey has the right "to take all kinds of measures" against border violations according to international laws.

By
The Associated Press

Nov 24, 2015

AP

Update, 11/24/15 11:41 AM ET: Syrian rebels and activists say they have targeted and destroyed a Russian-made helicopter operated by the Syrian army near the area where a Russian warplane was downed by Turkey.

A rebel spokesman, Zakaria al-Ahmad, says the chopper was flying low over mountains in Latakia province, allegedly searching for the missing Russian pilots on Tuesday.

Al-Ahmad says the rebels fired a Tao missile that destroyed the helicopter after it landed and its pilots had left the aircraft.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the chopper made an emergency landing in the area and its pilots ejected before the aircraft was hit. It was not clear why it made an emergency landing.

"We are looking into the circumstances of the crash of the Russian jet," Russia's Defense Ministry said. "The Ministry of Defense would like to stress that the plane was over the Syrian territory throughout the flight."

Russia said the Su-24 was downed by artillery fire, but Turkey claimed that its F-16s fired on the Russian plane after it ignored several warnings. The ministry said the pilots parachuted but added that Moscow had no further contact with them.

Video footage of the incident showed a warplane on fire before crashing on a hill and two crew members apparently parachuting safely.

Jahed Ahmad, a spokesman the 10th Coast Division, an insurgent group in Syria, said its forces fired at the Russian pilots as they descended. One was dead when he reached the ground, Ahmad told The Associated Press.

The group released a video showing gunmen standing around a blond man in aviator gear whose face was bruised and appeared dead.

The fate of the second pilot was unknown.

The North Atlantic Council, NATO's governing body, called a meeting requested by Turkey, an alliance member. "The aim of this extraordinary NAC meeting is for Turkey to inform allies about the downing of a Russian airplane," said Carmen Romero, NATO's deputy spokesperson.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said nothing about the incident at a ceremony approving the list a new cabinet members.

In this Oct. 22, 2015 file photo, a Russian Su-24 takes off on a combat mission at Hemeimeem airbase in Syria.

AP

Turkey's private Dogan news agency said two Russian helicopters, flying low over the Turkmen Bayirbucak region, searched for the two pilots.

"This isn't an action against any specific country. Our F-16s took the necessary steps to defend Turkey's sovereign territory," a Turkish official said in an email. The official cannot be named because of government rules that bar civil servants from speaking to journalists without authorization.

The official said the Russian plane was first warned that it was within 15 kilometers (10 miles) of the Turkish border, and the aircraft then crossed over Turkish territory.

Turkish officials released what they said was the radar image of the path the Russian plane took, showing it flying across a stretch of Turkish territory in Turkey's southern-most tip, in the region of Yayladag, in Hatay province.

A Turkish military statement said the plane entered Turkish airspace over the town of Yayladagi, in Hatay province.

"On Nov. 24, 2015 at around 09.20 a.m, a plane whose nationality is not known violated the Turkish airspace despite several warnings (10 times within five minutes) in the area of Yayladagi, Hatay," the military said before the plane's nationality was confirmed.

"Two F-16 planes on aerial patrol duty in the area intervened against the plane in question in accordance with the rules of engagement at 09.24 a.m."

It said the plane was warned 10 times within the space of five minutes.

"It's the kind of thing we're been warning about," said Ian Kearns, director of the European Leadership Network think-tank in London. "And it's a direct military engagement between a NATO country and Russia, so I think it's a serious incident in anybody's book."

On Friday, Turkey's Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador demanding that Russia cease operations in Syria targeting Turkmen villages, saying the Russian actions did not "constitute a fight against terrorism" but the bombing of civilians. Ambassador Andrey Karlov was warned during the meeting that the Russian operations could lead to serious consequences, the ministry said.

Syrian troops have been on the offensive in the area that is controlled by several insurgent groups including al-Qaida's branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, and the 2nd Coastal Division and the 10th Coast Division that includes local Turkmen fighters.

Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the warplane crashed in the Turkmen Mountains region in the coastal province of Latakia.

The Turkmen Mountains region has been subjected to a government offensive in recent days under the cover of Russian airstrikes.

Three Russian journalists working in Latakia province suffered minor injuries when a missile landed near their car on Monday, Russia's Defense Ministry said. They were being treated in a military hospital.

Last month, Turkish jets shot down an unidentified drone that it said had violated Turkey's airspace.

Turkey changed its rules of engagement a few years ago after Syria shot down a Turkish plane. According to the new rules, Turkey said it would consider all "elements" approaching from Syria an enemy threat and would act accordingly.

Following earlier accusations of Russian intrusion into Turkish airspace, the U.S. European Command on Nov. 6 deployed six U.S. Air Force F-15 fighters from their base in Britain to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey to help the NATO-member country secure its skies.

The European Command said the deployment was "in response to the government of Turkey's request for support in securing the sovereignty of Turkish airspace."

In October, NATO's governing body, the North Atlantic Council, had warned Moscow it was courting "extreme danger" by sending planes into Turkish air space.

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